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"People think they'll come for a few hours and then go do something else. Oh, no. They get so wrapped up in the plants, the seminars and things to see and buy that the day flies by. It's like Disneyland for gardeners," Meyer said.

The expo is the largest garden show in Eastern Washington and -- with the owners of the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle saying this was their last year -- the largest in the state.

"I'm hoping that (the Seattle show) will sell. We're pulling for that old flower show. In fact, it inspired our Garden Expo," Meyer said.

It's also the one place you'll find answers for just about any gardening question you have. In addition to members of The Inland Empire Gardeners and other garden clubs, volunteers from the Washington State University Master Gardeners, the Inland Empire Dahlia Society, the Spokane Lilac Society, the Spokane Rose Society, the Town & Country Iris Society, Treesong Bonsai and the Inland Northwest Garden Railroad Society will all have booths.

There also will be displays and information from the Spokane Community College Horticulture Club, Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, SNAP's Living Green, Plant a Row for the Hungry Program and Spokane Community Gardens.

Nine free demonstrations and seminars will be held during the show. Topics range from Japanese flower arranging to home composting to growing blueberries. There's also a slide show featuring many of the world's great gardens.

The college cafeteria will be open for food service during the Expo and there's plenty of on-site free parking.

For more information on The Inland Empire Gardeners club, or the Expo, go to http://tieg.org.

* Loretto J. Hulse: 509-582-1513; lhulse@tricityherald.com.

See more of the Herald's Home & Garden stories at www.tricityhomeandgarden.com.